O'Neals in Town

Van, Madeline and Gracie visited us recently. As always, it was great having them here. We all toured the local aquarium, flew a kite from Jockey's Ridge, and went fishing/crabbing. Gracie managed to catch a few blue crabs, and tried her best to put them down mom's pants while she wasn't looking. ;-)

Of interest, Van and I will be going to China in the near future (November/December?) to pick up their second child, Garrett, from an orphanage. I'm honored and privilaged that the O'Neals have asked me to do my small part in bringing this longtime-in-the-making adoption come to fruition. No doubt, this will be a trip to remember.

Group effort.

Mooommmmyyyy!!!!

Daddy got blown away by the kite again!!!

Pull those staples out Gracie!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently, some of daddy's "hair glue" got on her hands.

Gracie seems content. Maybe it's because Auburn beat the Vols once again. [sigh]

A small maurading black bear ransacked our living room...

Fortunately, Gracie did her best impression of that dentist elf from Rudolph, and proceded to make a gummy-bear.

An overgrown, rare-breed weiner spaniel cat also invaded the premises.

Here's my first speckled trout....
And here's my second... What?? What's that Madeline? What do you mean "your" fish? Pshawww!!!!!

Ryan is Coming to Town

Ryan is coming to town this Friday through Tuesday. Apparently, the locals have gotten wind of his arrival, as well.

Big plans for the weekend: Ryan, Sherry and I - along with Mike and Ansley Casey and their 3 boys - are going to Busch Gardens on Saturday for the Howl-O-Scream festivities. Should be a blast. If the weather cooperates on Sunday and/or Monday, we should get some fishing in, as well.

I'll post pix next week.

Fishing in the Surf

October has ushered in absolutely beautiful fall weather here on the island. We've had crisp and sunny afternoons in the low 70s and nights in the upper 50s. Winds have been light, and have allowed me to test the surf along OBX. Normally, this time of year, the great migration of fish begins in earnest - and OBX can produce great fishing conditions.

This past Tuesday morning, I tried a spot near Jockey's Ridge that a fishing buddy recommended. While the winds were light, we still had a significant swell from the hurricane that hit New England last week, believe it or not. Frankly, I figured it was unfishable, but had to give it a shot anyway.

Having found the spot, I waded in the water up to my shorts (the water temperature is still in the mid 70s) and went at it. Cast #2 and I was hooked up. Small speckled trout. Cast #4 and I was hooked up again. Another trout. They were pretty thick, and sitting right on the spot as advertised. After 1 1/2 hours, I had hooked and released about a dozen trout, a couple puppy drum, and kept one very nice trout of about 3 pounds. The biggest trout I've caught to date.

The following day, I tried a new beer-battered fried fish recipe for the trout, and it turned out really well (surprisingly). Crunchy, brown and really tasty!

While the weather has remained fantastic since Tuesday, the fishing has not. I tried a couple more mornings at the 'spot' and a few other locations, only mustering a few tiny specks and puppy drum. There is much to learn about surf fishing.

At any rate, the conditions look really nice for Monday AM (pre-dawn, of course), so I'll give it a shot.